Seems like everyone is on a budget these days. Many people are driving older cars rather than buying or leasing a new car every couple of years. And instead of eating out all of the time, people are getting more creative about cooking at home. You can definitely save quite a bit of money skipping a few restaurant meals and making dinner at home instead. The same goes for baking your own goodies instead of buying desserts in your local bakery. If you’re buying some new pans, it pays to get something versatile like this Pyrex Portable 4 Piece Nonstick Bakeware Set.

This affordable portable baking set is perfect for making a variety of dishes and desserts. The included covers make it easy to store the prepared food in your fridge as well as take the dish on the road to any given event. The pans are made of nonstick stainless steel making clean-up a breeze. This set is a perfect gift for yourself or as a housewarming or bridal shower gift.

If you’re like me, you’re always on the lookout for some new treat and meal ideas, you should check out the Martha Stewart Food website. On there you’ll find a variety of wonderful cupcake recipes and decorating tips for easy cupcakes, specialty kids’ cupcakes and much more. Plus there are yummy cookie recipes, favorites and collections, and fun quick recipes that anyone can try.

In addition to wonderful treats and desserts, there are some unique recipes for homemade pizzas and some new twists on the classic macaroni and cheese dish we’ve all enjoyed over the years. There’s some great information on eating light, grilling, a produce guide, comfort foods, and some delicious brunch recipes. So have fun and try cooking something new this week.

If you’re like a lot of people these days, you’re looking for ways to save money, both big and small. One great way to save a good amount of money is to bring your own lunch to work rather than dining out or buying take out. Even if you do it a few days out of the week you’ll surely save quite a few dollars every week, which will add up to hundreds over the course of the year. Plus you’ll probably eat a bit healthier as well, having served out your portions in advance from leftovers brought from home. This CorningWare 12-Piece Pop-Ins Bake and Serve Set is perfect for both storing and heating your leftovers.

This attractive French White CorningWare Baking Set has a handy selection of pieces for almost every food storage purpose. You can use them for soups, chili, stews, desserts, and more - perfect for any portable meal. The twelve pieces include two sixteen ounce round dishes with vented covers, two twenty-two ounce mugs with vented covers, and four seven ounce ramekins. Plus the durable stoneware dishes can be used in the oven and microwave and are dishwasher safe for easy clean-up.

Casseroles are one of my favorite types of dishes to make for our family meals. I don’t make one every week, but I make them they’re always a big hit. Casseroles are tasty and satisfying, and can be made easily and simply at little cost. The perfect meal! There are many different recipes that can be found online for a variety of casseroles that are sure to please every taste. You can find recipes for meat and cheese type meals as well as many great vegetarian dishes too. You can cook them in just about any type of oven-safe dish, though I like making mine in bakeware like this durable Corelle Stoneware Casserole Set.

I love ceramic cookware because it cooks well, it looks great, it stores well, and it cleans up easily. To me it’s the perfect cookware and if I could use it for everything, I would. But then I also love my stainless steel cookware, so I guess it’s good to have both! This set has a handy 1 1/2 quart covered casserole and a 2 1/2 quart covered casserole. They fit easily inside each other for storage and they can be used in the oven and microwave. Plus they’re fridge and freezer-safe too.

For many of us, the taste of warm fresh bread ranks right up there as a treat, as much as many of our favorite desserts. Hot bread, fresh from the oven, slathered in sweet butter has brought a smile to many faces. If you make your own breads, you can adjust them any way you like. You can choose to use more whole grains for a healthier, heavier bread or you can add cinnamon and raisins for a sweeter bread. Kneading your own dough can be a bit of work for some people - unless you own a great bread machine. Something like the Oster ExpressBake Bread Maker can take all of the work out of making your own bread.

Bread machines do a wonderful job of making fresh breads. They do all of the work for you - all you have to do is add the required ingredients in the specified amounts and in less than an hour, you and your family can sit down and enjoy the homemade goodness of hot, fresh bread. These types of small kitchen appliances are really a treat to own. They can make your cooking and baking jobs so much easier, leaving you more free time to enjoy with your family or to simply sit back and read a good book while you wait for your meal or dessert to be ready.

When you spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and baking, you realize you use certain items a lot. And you also realize you sometimes make a bit of a mess as you go. We used to use a lot of paper towels but have been trying more lately to grab for a kitchen towel to clean up instead. It’s good to keep some extras around. We also have quite a few aprons and one of our favorites is our handmade shibori kitchen apron.

It’s a really cool apron with 2 front pockets. It’s a nice length too, with an adjustable neck and a tie at the waist. It’s handmade in the US of 100% washable cotton and naturally dyed using berries and flowers. It comes in eight bright color choices - since it was hard to choose a favorite , we bought a few in lime green, raspberry pink, and cocoa brown. Even the colors sound yummy, don’t they? It’s by far one of our favorite cool kitchen accessories.

Quiche is a wonderful , satisfying dish. And it’s not just a meal but can be a wonderful rich treat too. It is very rich in protein and oh so fattening, but simply too delicious to resist. Whether you’re making your favorite bacon, ham and mushroom breakfast quiche or perhaps a classic Quiche Lorraine, you’ll surely love this sturdy and versatile springform quiche pan made by Kaiser Bakeware.

This great pan has a removable bottom for easy serving and a patented magnum coating so you can slice the quiche right on the pan without damaging it. It’s a great, solid pan made of commercial-weight steel with a double nonstick interior for easy release and easy cleaning. If you love making quiche this is one quality cake pan that you are sure to get a lot of use out of.

Now many people may not be familiar with the wonderful aspects of clay cookware. As a matter of fact, quite a lot of people aren’t even aware that the option of cooking in clay even exists. But clay cookware dates back to the Roman times when they enveloped their food in mud clay and tossed it into the fire to cook, producing exceptionally juicy and delicious results.

One of the most well-know clay cookware manufacturers is Romertopf, and with good reason as they have consistently produced quality clayware for many years. Not only can this cookware be used for cooking your meals, but you can also bake fabulous desserts in these containers. And if you love baked fruit you need look no further than the unique banana and apple bakers Romertopf produces. If you’re looking for unique holiday gift ideas, you’ll find these pieces make wonderful gifts for that special person.